Too Late
by TDWidow
Summary: Luke and Han fly with Rogue Squadron on a rescue mission, but they arrive too late and Leia must face a deadly state secret. Oneshot.


**AUTHOR'S NOTE** This is a little crossover between _Star Wars_ and _Battlestar_ _Galactica_. Hope you enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own any of these characters or places or things.

…

The empty space above a silent brown planet was broken by the sudden appearance of a dozen small fighters. Rogue Squadron dropped into real space and began sweeping the orbit in formation.

A voice broke the silence. "There's nothing."

Another ship dropped into real space above them, this one shaped like an irregular disc. The pilot's voice rang throughout the fleet. "Sorry I'm late. I thought this was supposed to be a party."

"So did we, _General_ Solo."

They could practically see the smirk as Han countered, "Do I hear sarcasm from the great Jedi Master? Careful, _Commander_ Skywalker. I outrank you."

Wedge Antilles joined the conversation. "Rogue Three, Rogue Nine, take a couple and check out the rest of the system. Look for survivors."

"What if we run into hostiles?" Rogue Three asked. Luke recognized the voice of his former student Corran Horn.

"You know the rules," Wedge replied. "Do not fire until fired upon."

"Copy, Rogue Leader." Two of the fighters broke off from the group and led another three toward the other planets in the distance.

The _Millennium Falcon_ joined Rogue Squadron in formation. Luke glanced down at the brown surface below them. He sighed. "I think we're too late."

He activated the comm unit. "Master Skywalker to base, calling for the Chief of State."

There was a moment of static, then he heard his sister's voice. "Luke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, exactly, it's just…" He trailed off.

"Just what?" Leia prompted.

Sadly, he said, "There's no one here."

Leia swore softly. "We should have known this would happen," she said. "They asked for help from the Emperor forty years ago and he never came. We should have known that it wasn't over!"

Luke gazed at the planet and saw scarring on the land that could only have been from bombs. "Twelve colonies worth of people," he whispered. "What if there are some left alive?"

Doubtfully, she replied, "We would have to organize a ground team. If – "

The rest of her words were drowned out by blaring alarms. Wedge's voice cut in. "Enemy ships coming in, bearing two-two-nine. Lock s-foils in attack positions!"

Luke jabbed the button with his thumb and the wings of his fighter split apart to form an X. The blaster fire rained down on him almost immediately. Around him, Rogue Squadron scrambled in the chaos of sudden combat. "Luke?" Leia was saying. "Luke, what's going on out there?"

"We're under attack," he replied. One of the enemy ships screamed past his canopy. He frowned. "They're not TIEs, Leia. I've never seen them before."

"Is there a moving red light on the ship?"

Luke craned his neck and caught sight of one chasing the _Falcon_. "Yes, horizontally across the front."

Something in Leia's voice changed. "Cylons."

What the hell were Cylons? "Leia, what are those?"

"Retreat," was all she said.

"What? But what about survivors? If anyone is still alive down there, we have to find them!"

"Retreat!" she cried again.

He reached out to her through the Force, along the bond that had grown between them since before they were born. She was worried and scared and ashamed.

She knew that he was with her. Her thoughts rang clearly in his mind – I'm sorry I never told you. I'll explain everything, I promise. Just please get out of there now.

Rolling the X-Wing to avoid another volley from a Cylon ship, Luke nodded. He switched to the Rogue frequency. "We have orders from the Chief of State to abort the mission. Make the jump to hyperspace and return to Coruscant as soon as you can."

No one argued. One by one, the X-Wings disappeared as they jumped. Wedge and Han waited for Luke as he made one last pass over Caprica.

He knew there were survivors down there. He could feel them. "May the Force be with you," he said sadly. Then he, Han and Wedge made the jump for home.


End file.
